I have raised the question, “Is there Justice in the Church of God in Christ. I will present to you some of the facts and let you answer that question. Here are 5 pages from a 27 page letter Bishop Nesbitt addressed to Bishop Blake (click here to read the complete letter ). You will find copies of two affidavits mentioned in paragraph 11, page 8 and a copy of the letter mentioned in paragraph 15, page 8. I again ask the question Is there Justice in the Church of God in Christ? I now add another question, If there is Justice in the Church of God in Christ, to whom is it extended?

The answer is yes, when we esteem the WORD OF GOD above that of men, when we esteem the wisdom of GOD above the wisdom of men, then we can do as GOD requires;

Micah 6:8 (AV)

8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

One of the principles we seem to forget is that of restitution. In the Old Testament, the sin offering followed the act of restitution. In the New Testament, Zacchaeus said to Jesus in Luke 19:8 “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.” (AV) . Jesus replied to him in Luke 19:9–10; 9 “…This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (AV)

Jesus validated the principle of restoration.

What is “false accusation”, is it merely the obvious or does it include any manipulation of the facts in a deceitful manner? How many actions of our leaders that may be based on a false sense of entitlement has been brought about by “false accusation”? Isn’t that what Haman did in the book of Ester. He was angry because Mordecai would not bow down to him. Is the spirit of Mordecai alive and operating?

RESTITUTION Act of returning what has wrongfully been taken or replacing what has been lost or damaged and the divine restoration of all things to their original order.

The people who were members of Emmanuel Church of God in Christ, Wichita, Kansas before my father, Elder Joshua Stidham died October 28, 2004 were defrauded by the leaders of the Church of God in Christ. This has been chronicled on this blog. As has been previously stated, the civil case where the Church of God in Christ, Inc. sued a local church, with guile and deceit forced those who had literally built the church out is over. The people at Mt. Olive Church of God in Christ, Muncie , Indiana have been defrauded. The people at St. Paul Church of God in Christ, Emporia, Virginia have been defrauded. However, just as John the Baptist cried out in the wilderness, I cry out as David did in Psalm 94:1–4; 1 O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself. 2 Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud. 3 LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? 4 How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves? (AV)

The Bible tells us in 1 Timothy 5:20 ; Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear. (AV) There are two ways to govern a body of believers God’s governmental system, or the World’s governmental system. Whose report do you believe.

Restoration and Restitution

Restitution, a biblical concept closely related to the idea of restoration. Both, of course, are involved with sins committed against persons and/or property, either deliberately or inadvertently. Restoration, appears to indicate replacement for whatever was taken or destroyed, whereas restitution seems to be repayment over and above the actual loss, analogous to what is today called ‘punitive’ damages (e.g., Exod. 22:1-15; Lev. 6:1-7; Num. 5:5-7). For example, the ancient law found in Exod. 22:1, 4 clearly stipulates that anyone who steals an ox or a sheep must pay restitution to the owner of the animal(s). If the thief kills or sells the ox, he is required to pay restitution of five oxen; if he kills or sells the sheep, he is required to pay restitution of four sheep (cf. also 2 Sam. 12:6). If, however, the animal has not been harmed and is found safe in the possession of the thief, the culprit is required to pay double. Interestingly enough, if the thief has no means to pay this fine, he is to be sold for his theft.

In Leviticus, it is commanded that if someone robs or cheats a neighbor, that person is to restore the amount in full and add a fifth to it (Lev. 6:1-7). In addition, the guilty party was required to offer a guilt offering. This principle is reflected in the nt story of Zacchaeus, who, as a tax collector, had cheated and ‘gouged’ the people from whom he had collected the taxes (Luke 19:1-10). After his encounter with Jesus, he voluntarily agreed to give half of his goods to the poor and to restore fourfold to anyone he had defrauded. The principle of restitution is clearly part of this episode, but Zacchaeus went far beyond the requirement of the law in this matter.

In most of the nt writings, the word group used to designate the idea of restitution or restoration has a rather different meaning, namely, that of restoring in the sense of reestablishing (Matt. 17:11; Mark 9:12; Acts 1:6; 3:21) or even healing (Matt. 12:13; Mark 3:5; Luke 6:10; Mark 8:25; but cf. Heb. 13:19, where it is somewhat closer to the ot idea but not in any ‘legal’ sense). This probably is a result of the nt movement away from legalism. Clearly, however, the notion of restitution is continued, as was seen in the Zacchaeus story (the verb translated ‘restore’ in this story is elsewhere used, however, to refer in a much more general sense to ‘paying,’ ‘repaying,’ or simply ‘giving back’). Such a principle would be an integral feature of a new community founded upon the idea of loving one’s neighbor as oneself. J.M.E.[1]

How very many indeed do we daily see dying, groaning deeply, reproaching themselves greatly for usuries, plunderings, oppressions of the poor, and all kinds of injuries which they have committed, and consulting a priest to free them from these faults. If, as is proper, the first advice given to them is this, that selling all they have, they restore to others what they have taken—in accordance with Augustine: “If something which belongs to another is not returned when it can be returned, repentance is not done but is feigned”—instantly by their reply they declare how hollow is their repentance for these things. (Abelard, Ethics, pp. 79, 81)

Isaiah 58:1 (AV)

1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.